currently bose has really amazing noice cancelling headphones((QuietComfort), way above anyone else, but they go fo $300.There's another part google needs to make modular - seperate noise cancelling headphones from their software. By this they could enable competitiors and maybe there will be an affordable amazing noise cancellation earphones - which might become very popoular.

Google - Crazy idea. When you insert or remove a module, put the phone in a pause state and when the user is done hot swapping his modules, he presses a button on the screen to reboot the phone. You're making the developers jump through hoops again when you don't need them to. If I choose to reconfigure the phone modules, the phone shouldn't have to reconfigure on the fly...do it on a controlled boot-up sequence. Why stack more complication on top of the splintered mess we already ave to deal with?

The old management joke used to be to "hire 9 mothers to achieve 1 newborn/month". [no disrespect intended]

"We can't seem to break the 18- to 20-month cycle for hardware development; software is at 3.5 months," [Gabriel] said. I knew such long HW cycles applied to car manufacturing (etc.) but sounds exagerated for Ara modules.

I laughed at the idea of a cigarette lighter module. I think I will go and crowd-source for a typewriter and a slide rule module. :)

In conjunction with unveiling of EE Times’ Silicon 60 list, journalist & Silicon 60 researcher Peter Clarke hosts a conversation on startups in the electronics industry. One of Silicon Valley's great contributions to the world has been the demonstration of how the application of entrepreneurship and venture capital to electronics and semiconductor hardware can create wealth with developments in semiconductors, displays, design automation, MEMS and across the breadth of hardware developments. But in recent years concerns have been raised that traditional venture capital has turned its back on hardware-related startups in favor of software and Internet applications and services. Panelists from incubators join Peter Clarke in debate.